A typical circuit board is formed of circuit board material (e.g., fiberglass, copper, vias, etc.) and circuit board components attached or mounted to the circuit board material. Circuit board manufacturers conventionally test the operability of (e.g., debug) a manufactured circuit board prior to high volume manufacturing and shipping of the circuit board to an end user.
One conventional circuit board testing device is a bed of nails testing device. A typical bed of nails testing device includes a relatively heavy and large support plate and a holder having spring-loaded pins configured to make electrical contact with a circuit board during testing. During operation, for example, a user places the circuit board onto the support plate of the bed of nails testing device. The user then activates the testing device, thereby causing the support plate to lift and press the circuit board against the spring loaded test pins of the holder. The test pins contact the circuit board, thereby allowing the testing device to test the continuity of board (e.g., alignment of printed circuit board layers or continuity in etching of the traces of printed circuit board).
When using bed of nails to test circuit boards having components mounted using Surface Mount Technology (SMT), the circuit board includes test pads, conventionally between 0.015 to 0.040 inches in diameter as a contact interface for the test pins. Such test pads minimize damage caused by the test pins to the leads of the circuit board components.
Another conventional testing device includes a logic analyzer that connects to a circuit board for in-circuit testing and debugging of input/output (I/O) components on the circuit board. Typically, circuit boards include debugging connectors or probes, such as MICTOR connectors (MICTOR is a trademark of Tyco International, Ltd.), mounted on the top side (e.g., component side) of the circuit board (e.g., motherboard). Cables connect the debugging connectors to the logic analyzer, thereby allowing testing and debugging of the circuit board and I/O components.